Misadventures of a Roman Beast Boy, Two Legacies, and a Solangelo Kid
by Winekita
Summary: While their siblings go off to rescue their parents in "The Keys", what do Augustus Zhang and Aria and Zac Valdez get into? Why is Zac so adventurous and troublesome? Can Aria wield a sword as well as she can play the violin? And what's going on with Gus, the shy legacy of Mars who can't seem to get along with his Ares cousins? Rated T just in case.
1. The Misadventure Begins

_**Well that certainly is an interesting title, isn't it? xD**_

**_This story takes place during "The Keys". While all the older legacies are off to rescue the Seven and Calypso, Gus, Zac, and Aria are left in Camp Half-Blood._**

**_Wonder what kind of fun they'll get into?_**

**_Eventually, there will be a point in which Gus does something to inspire this year's super-duper bead :)_**

**_This was originally gonna be a one-shot, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't think of a short story for these guys. So, this will be a multi-chapter. I have no idea how long it will be, so this should be fun :D_**

_**I own nothing you recognize as canon.**_

_**So, without further a-shmoo, here is...**_

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><p><strong>*~Misadventures of a Roman Beast Boy, Two Legacies, and a Solangelo Kid~*<strong>

**Chapter One**

**The Misadventure Begins**

Aria Valdez sat her younger brother, Zachariah, down onto the ground. He had been squirming in protest since they'd left their house.

"Zac, stop fidgeting," she said.

"I wanna go home," he complained.

Aria bent down and stroked her brother's cinnamon-colored curls. "We can't stay at home right now. While Tulio, Espie, and _Papi_ go find Mommy, we have to stay in camp. _Papi_ doesn't want us to stay home alone."

Zac pouted.

"Chiron said we get to have a bead when we're done," she said. "We'll be like Tulio and Espie!"

"Bead?"

"Yes!"

Zac brightened a little. He was insanely jealous of the beaded necklaces the twins got each year, always wanting one. Leo had promised him that when he was old enough, he could go to camp and get one of his own.

Aria was a little envious of the twins and Zac. They got to be true legacies. They could actually go to camp, learn how to fight monsters, could get special powers (though Zac hadn't shown any sign other than technokinesis). But all she got was the ability to enter and exit camp…

Okay, sure, she was talented _musically_. She suspected Apollo had done that as a real thanks for her father inventing the Valdezinator—one of the newest (and hardest to play) popular instruments ever to be introduced to the modern world—but it could just be raw talent, too. She had her mom's voice, but so did Espie, so all that was different about her was her ability to play the violin and piano like a professional.

She supposed that it was a good thing she was more mortal than legacy, considering monsters that weren't Steve or Mrs. O'Leary wouldn't so much as glance at her funny. She wouldn't have to worry so much about getting eaten.

But still…

Aria sighed. Zac tugged on her skirt.

"Why are you sad?" he asked cutely.

Aria smiled. "I was just thinking."

"_Papi_ say thinking bad for you."

"He would say that." Aria shook her head. "But I suppose I do think too much. I'll see about stopping that while we're in camp. We're here to have a little fun."

She bent down to Zac's level. "Why don't we go check out the Hephaestus Cabin? We'll be staying there!"

"Festus?" Zac's eyes brightened. "Festus gots his own cabin?"

"_He_phaestus," Aria corrected. "Gandad's cabin."

"Gandad!"

Zac began running around excitedly. "We stay in Gandad cabin!"

Aria smiled. She took his hand and began leading him toward Cabin Nine. "I bet they'll let you have Tulio's bed," she said.

"Tui has the best stuff," Zac commented. "I want his stuff."

* * *

><p>As Aria led Zac into Cabin Nine, Gus stood outside of Cabin Five—Ares Cabin.<p>

He had heard some pretty nasty things from Sammy Leo about this cabin. That they were bullies, blockheads, violent…Everything Sammy _wasn't_. Gus found it hard to believe that the Ares cabin kids were cousins of his father, Frank, who was known as the sweetest son of Mars ever.

Gus wasn't as tough as Sammy. He didn't like fighting, and wasn't very handy with weapons. His father had assured him that he had been just like that when he was Sammy's age—awkward, unsure about anything, and shy. His mother told him it was okay to be shy and reserved. Plenty of demigods and legacies survived with that attitude.

He was still nervous about meeting his Ares cousins. Mrs. Rodriguez, one of the old Ares head counselors, was really rough. Gus didn't really want to know how rough the younger Ares kids nowadays could be.

A _BOOM_ resounded from inside. The boar head above the door shook a little, but didn't fall. Curses echoed inside. Gus cowered and shivered in his shoes.

He didn't even knock on the door and introduce himself. Gus ran away and hid behind a black cabin, trying to get his act together.

"C'mon, Augustus," he scolded himself. "You can do this. Sammy said that if I can deal with my Ares cousins, I can handle Lupa. This is pre-training for the Legion! You can do this!"

He peeked out from behind the cabin. Arey Stoll was sneaking around the Ares cabin, snickering to another Hermes camper. Suddenly, the ground erupted around them. They shouted in alarm and bolted before their spot blew up.

The head counselor, Vance Boaran, busted out of the door and shouted in triumph. "Take that, Stoll! That'll teach you for messin' with Ares!"

Gus felt sweat bead up around his forehead. _Mines…They have live mines surrounding their cabin!?_

He shrank back into the shadow of his hiding place. He whined and crouched low, scared out of his mind. He wished he wasn't so scared, so weak and frightened. He was such a scaredy-cat that he couldn't even face his cousins!

_How am I supposed to go through Roman training if I can't handle the Greeks? I'm so useless! I wish I could be as brave as Sammy, or have powers like Mr. Grace or Mr. Valdez or even Mr. Jackson!_

Suddenly, a hand arrived on his shoulder. Gus snapped his head up.

Standing in front of him was Jonah Calavera, a Persephone-claimed legacy of Hades, and the adopted son of Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. The ten-year-old Latino was looking at him with a confused expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice thick with a Mexican accent. Four years of learning English from Leo Valdez had improved everything but his accent. Jonah was pretty proud of it, saying it helped him remember where he came from. Nico could relate, so he was fine with it, and if Nico was okay with it, then so was Will.

Gus shook his head. "I'm really scared," he said.

"Of what?"

Gus merely pointed to the Ares Cabin.

Jonah looked at Vance, who was waving his sword around, chasing Arey with a face of pure rage. The legacy of Hades grimaced. "Ah," he said. "Your brother's cabin, yes?"

Gus nodded. "I…I'm supposed to stay with them while Sammy and the others go rescue our parents. But…the Ares Cabin scares me!"

Jonah smiled. "Well, maybe the Ares cabin is not for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"As I can remember, Mrs. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto. Maybe you are more Pluto legacy than Mars?"

Gus tilted his head. "Pluto? You mean…"

"Maybe you could stay in the Hades Cabin," Jonah suggested. "And if you are lonely, I could stay with you."

"But you stay in the Persephone Cabin," Gus protested.

"Because Persephone claimed me. I'm sure she won't mind if I stay in Cabin Thirteen for a few weeks. Mr. Grace didn't stay in Hera's Cabin even when he was claimed by her, so this should be okay for a bit."

Gus sniffled. "I could try…"

Jonah helped him to his feet. "Trying is better than running," he said.

"But this is technically running," Gus mumbled too softly for Jonah to hear.

_Not very Roman of me to run away from a fight_, he noted. _Mom and Dad wouldn't be proud…_

He followed Jonah to the Hades Cabin, nervously thinking of how he wasn't going to survive Lupa and her wolves if he couldn't even face his Ares cousins…

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Before ANYONE makes any assumptions, let me say there will be no plan for romance between any of the above characters. Jonah is TEN, Aria and Gus are EIGHT. Too young. Far too young.**_

_**This will be centered around Gus mostly, but I'll still include Aria and Zac, because they **_**are_ Valdezes, and no story of mine is complete without a Valdez :)_**

**_Also, y'know, Solangelo child. Yay! To those of you who don't understand where Jonah came from, please refer to my 100 One-Shot Challenge chapter numero uno :)_**


	2. Settling In

_**Yay, another chapter! :D**_

_**Glad you all are excited to learn about the younger legacies!**_

_**Enjoy :3**_

_**I own nothing you recognize as canon.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Settling In**

"Zac please don't—"

Zac ran off into the forges, grabbing bits of scrap and pieces of wiring along the way. None of the Hephaestus kids paid the four-year-old any mind as he climbed up onto a stool and began to tinker.

Aria walked after him, dodging various discarded projects. Leo had always joked that Aria was her mother's child, because she was the only one of the four children whose favorite place wasn't a forge or machine shop. She couldn't handle the smells and the noise and the grease that clung to her feet and hands.

The Cabin Nine head counselor, Wallace Steele, looked up from his project—some sort of high-tech battle axe that Aria was immensely scared of. "What's the matter, Aria?"

"Hi Wallace," Aria greeted him. "I'm just worried for Zac. I don't want Mom and Dad to come back and find Zac in the infirmary with no arm or missing fingers or…"

Wallace laughed. His laugh was deep and booming, like Hephaestus'. "Are you serious? Look at him!"

Aria did. Zac was already building a toy horse—no a Pegasus, since he was now constructing wings. He was smiling, one of his teeth missing.

"He seems fine to me," the Hephaestus camper said.

Aria shook her head. "But what if he…"

"Aria," Wallace said. "There is no safer place for a Hephaestus legacy than right here in the camp forge! Your dad would agree."

Aria shivered. Her father wasn't the most _careful_ of builders, and wasn't the most careful of…_fathers_, either. His careless nature had rubbed off on Espie, indirectly rubbed off on Tulio—only when he tinkered near open fires—and Zac was already showing signs of being just as careless.

"Zac isn't a fire user," she protested. "What if he burns himself?"

Wallace shrugged. "No one here is a fire user and we do just fine on a normal basis. Even on a bad day, we'd only break an arm or a leg…"

Aria wanted to punch him so badly. She glared at him with so much intensity, she could feel her _mother's_ blood rise up to beat the tar out of Wallace.

The Hephaestus camper backed up a step. "…but we've been really vigilant, lately," he added. "And I would like to add that we won't be letting Zac play with any swords, knives, axes, chainsaws, weed wackers, etc."

"You promise?"

"There's actually a rule that no one under ten can play and/or build them—at least the sharp parts. Training is another matter entirely, but I don't think Zac quite qualifies for swordplay _just_ yet."

Aria nodded. "Fine.

Wallace smiled. "Learn to relax, kid. I know he's four, but you're _eight_. Stop acting like your mother and go hang out or something."

"Hang out?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Hang out at the…I don't know, the archery range? The lava—okay, maybe not for you…the lake? Go hang out with some friends."

Aria scuffled her feet, frowning at the dirt and grime already on her shoes. "I don't know where to go," she admitted. "I've never been inside camp without supervision before…"

Wallace grinned. "Well, now you've got freedom to do what you want! Obviously you're not a Hephaestus legacy and I can respect that. Espie isn't much for hanging out in the forges either, though she likes the Bunker well enough. She hangs out with the Apollo cabin all the time. Why not try them?"

"The Apollo cabin?" she asked. "Why them?"

"She shares their interests, and from what I've heard from Tulio, so do you. They like music and art. Give them a chance."

Aria shrugged. "Okay…I guess I could do that. But Zac—"

"—will be fine and dandy right here in the forges," he finished. "I promise he won't get hurt. How bad could he be?"

Aria smirked. "You really want to know?"

Wallace nodded.

"Imagine Tulio."

"Not so bad."

"But give him my dad's high-intensity ADHD…"

"Okay."

"…add a huge burst of imagination…"

"Alright."

"…and then shrink it into the mind and body of a four-year-old with the attention span of a goldfish."

Wallace paled a little. He glanced back at the youngest of the Valdez clan. Zac was happily tinkering with another Pegasus—by this time, it was his third. He was building a whole flock, it seemed.

"I think we can handle him," he assured her. "If something happens, you'll be the first to know."

Aria nodded. "Okay…then, I guess I'll see you around?"

"Just make sure to be present for meals and lights-out. And for Friday's Capture-the-Flag, don't worry; you and Zac will be side-lining. No way am I allowing you two to fight."

Aria was a little hurt at that comment, but passed it off as just a reference to her being much younger than the average camper. It still stung, though, when she thought of it that way. _I may be young, but I'm wiser than you, it seems,_ she thought. _I'll show you. I'll learn to fight, anyway. That way I can be there for Zac if he gets hurt._

She walked out of the forge. Instead of going to the Apollo campers, she headed for the weapons shed, hoping to find something she—as a full mortal—could use.

* * *

><p>Gus rubbed his eyes sleepily. He never knew how restless he'd be inside a vampire's home—sorry, Cabin Thirteen. He and Jonah's first night had been rather spooky. Even as HadesPluto legacies, they were both pretty scared of the moving shadows that weren't actually moving…hey, they were eight and ten! You couldn't expect them to be as brave as Nico on their first night!

Gus yawned, wishing he could sleep somewhere for the day. But _no_, Jonah said they would be getting into the weapons shed today to pick out something he could use. Something probably Imperial Gold, considering he was Roman.

Speak of the devil, Jonah adjusted his camp shirt as he walked out of the cabin. He looked just as sad as Gus, so that was a plus.

"Ready?" Jonah asked.

"Yeah," Gus groaned.

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," the other legacy chuckled.

Gus rubbed his eyes again. "No, sorry. I'm just…"

"Tired?"

"That, too. But, there's something nagging at the back of my mind. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just worried for my mom and dad. And Sammy, too."

Jonah clapped him on the back. "I'm sure it's nothing."

Gus nodded. "Guess you're right. It's nothing."

It didn't feel like nothing, though. In the back of his mind, Gus could almost hear someone whispering. It was inaudible, but still there. And his whole body felt weird and awkward. _Something isn't right_, he thought. _I just feel…off._

He shook it off and followed Jonah to the weapons shed.

When they arrived, they found the door already opened. Gus peeked his head in the doorway.

Aria Valdez was frowning at her hands, in which she had a sword and a dagger, both made of Celestial Bronze. She sighed and discarded them both after a moment.

"Aria?" Gus asked. "What are you doing in here?"

She blinked at the boys. "Hi," she greeted them. "I'm just looking for a good weapon. Dad and Tulio have hammers, Mom has a dagger, Espie's got her flames…I wanna have my own weapon, too."

"Why?" asked Jonah. "You're mortal. The monsters won't bother you."

Aria glared at him. "I won't take chances. I want to be trained, too."

"It's gonna be practically cheating," Gus whined. "Bronze and Gold won't touch you…"

"But monsters can," she argued. "I'm gonna learn to defend myself. I wanna show people I'm just as dangerous as you guys!"

The air thickened around her. Gus knew it was just her emotions, but _phew_ was he glad she wasn't a demititan like her elder siblings. Her aura might have destroyed the shed!

Jonah stepped back a little. "I believe it," he admitted. Then, in a hushed tone, he told Gus, "I swear she is way too much like her mom."

Gus nodded mutely. "So, ah," he stammered. "I'm here for the same reason. Got any suggestions?"

Aria shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I've been looking around, but nothing seems to suit me."

"I meant for me," Gus muttered, picking up a sword. It didn't quite feel right, so he put it back. That awkward feeling was back, but he pushed it aside again.

Jonah wandered around and handed him a bow. "Try this?"

Gus weighed it in his hand. "Nah," he said. "Dad liked archery, but I can't shoot the broad side of a barn."

Aria picked up a tommy gun. Gus paled when she smirked a little, but she eventually set it down. When she turned to look at him, she smiled. "I don't think I'm a gun person."

_Thank the gods_…

Gus's vision doubled. For a moment, instead of his regular fingers, he saw claws as black as night. Two seconds later, his vision was normal.

_What was that?_ He shook his head and picked up a golden dagger.

"Hmm," Aria hummed to herself. "I kinda like this."

Gus looked over and nearly fainted. Aria was holding a shaft with a spiked ball at the end. She was smiling. "I like it a lot," she said.

She waved around the Celestial Bronze mace a bit and grinned. Now she looked a lot like her father with that impish smile.

Jonah had blanched. "Are you sure?" he asked. "There are other weapons…"

Aria tossed it in the air and caught it again. It was weird to think that an eight-year-old girl would even pick up a mace—well, technically it was a Morningstar, but not very many people knew the difference between that, a mace, or a flail (which is the spiked ball connected to the stick via chain).

"This is the one," she announced. "I love it! And hey, I bet Dad can hook up a cloaking mechanism so it can turn into something simple."

"Like Mr. Jackson's sword or Mr. Grace's coin-thing?" Gus asked.

"Yup," she said happily. Then, she got a glint in her eyes. "Hey, Gus…since you and I are beginners here…"

Jonah laughed nervously. "Gus hasn't even gotten a weapon yet and you're already picking a fight?"

Gus shrugged. "It's Valdez thing," he said, picking up a random sword. "I'll just use this. Maybe I'll suddenly get the hang of it during the spar."

He and Jonah filed out of the shed, Aria following close behind.

"What did you mean, 'It's a Valdez thing'?" Aria asked as they headed for the training arena.

Gus cleared his throat and took a step away from the girl. "Just that…y'know…you have a tendency to be violent, like the rest of your family."

Aria looked flabbergasted. "Violent?"

"Yes," he said in a small voice.

"Name one time."

Gus took another step away and put Jonah between them. "That time you stepped on my Legos and swore to beat me to a pulp and then began hitting me with a couch pillow for two days straight."

"We were five," she argued. "And, in my defense, your mom _did_ tell you to clean up your Legos. Those you left on the floor hurt!"

The grip on her mace tightened. Jonah's eyes widened and he pushed Gus back more.

Gus gulped. _I have a feeling this isn't going to go well for my health…_

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Before you start to spread rumors amongst yourselves, Arius (AriaxGus copyright me) does not exist. That would be weird, what with Saspie. This thing between the young ones is extremely platonic!_**


	3. Surprises

_**Sorry for the wait. The OSC is really inspiring me.**_

_**Anyway, here's the newest chapter. I **_**was_ going to do a Gus vs Aria thing, but couldn't feel inspired enough for it. So, on to the next part of the story :P_**

_**I own nothing you recognize as canon.**_

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE<strong>

**Surprises**

Aria felt extremely good after beating Gus in the training arena. He never got used to using the sword, so all he could do was try to defend when the mortal legacy came at him swinging a freaking Morningstar. She knocked his sword out of the way in two seconds, switched her hold on her weapon, and hit him with the shaft.

An Ares kid had complimented her after doing that, while simultaneously sneering at Gus for being beaten so easily.

Okay, she felt a _little_ bad for showing him up, but after calling her violent, Aria wanted nothing more than to give him what he wanted.

Jonah had immediately denied fighting with her, for fear she might actually break his face. He instead taught Gus some defensive moves, gave him a shield, and wished him luck.

Aria beat him in four seconds that time.

It was Friday now, almost two days after the training arena spar. Since then, Aria had become legendary. She was a natural with the Morningstar, and had earned the respect of many already.

With that respect, she'd also been asked to join the Hephaestus Cabin during Capture-the-Flag that afternoon. Zac wouldn't be participating directly, but he had been given a chance to make traps.

Aria was surprised to find that the four-year-old could build huge traps faster than Tulio or even her father! Within an hour, he'd built three miniature catapults the size of a person. Given two hours, he'd woven half a dozen Hephaestus nets. The kid was a natural, and his hands weren't even that much bigger than an apple!

The Hephaestus Cabin was on the Red Team, which consisted of them, Ares, Hermes, Hypnos, Aphrodite, and a few other minor cabins. Ares led them. The Blue Team was led by Nike, and consisted of Hades, Persephone, Demeter, Apollo, and the rest. Hades and Persephone were separate because Jonah was still technically Persephone-claimed when the teams were decided last week. Gus didn't want to be in Ares, so he was officially a member of Cabin Thirteen.

At the moment, everyone was eating breakfast at the dining pavilion. Cabin Nine members were all trying to get their big paws on Aria's Morningstar. She kept it firmly tied to her belt loops, saying she would wait for her father to return so he could give it a mortal form. Zac played with his food, happily ignoring the commotion.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw Gus picking at his food at the Hades table. Even though Jonah was trying to stir up a conversation, he couldn't have looked any lonelier.

"Aria?"

Aria blinked and turned her attention back to Wallace. The head counselor looked at her expectantly.

"Sorry," she apologized. "What'd you say?"

"I said Vance wants to run through some strategies after breakfast and lay down the traps. We're gonna have Zac help with the trap-laying. Is that okay with you?"

She held back a smirk. Ever since she'd gotten the Morningstar, Wallace took it upon himself to ask her permission any time Zac had to do something normal four-year-olds wouldn't do.

"Yeah, I guess that's okay," she said. "But only the nets and the boulder traps. Not the bombs or sharp traps."

"Fine," Wallace conceded.

Zac grinned and catapulted some of his eggs into one of his cousin's faces. She squealed in alarm. Everyone laughed.

Wallace snapped his fingers. "Oh! That reminds me. Today at dinner is the weekly Table Wars! Wanna play, Zac?"

Zac tilted his head. "Wha's Table Wars?"

Another camper grinned. "We build little robots and pit them against each other. Ever seen Godzilla Vs Mothra?"

Zac beamed. Aria felt conflicted about this. "Dad made us watch that a few weeks ago. You actually do things like that every Friday?"

"On a smaller scale," Wallace admitted. "The robots can't be bigger than a 20 oz soda bottle, which includes their weapons, and the only weapon they aren't allowed to have are nuclear ones."

"Fantastic," Aria mumbled.

Zac began to bounce. "I wanna try!"

Aria sighed. "Fine. I guess there's no harm in it."

One of her cousins smirked. "Oh, there's harm. To the robots, that is."

* * *

><p>One hour later, Aria found herself sparring with a Hermes kid. It was Cal Rodriguez. Vance had ordered everyone on the Red Team who could to fight with each other. Aria had gotten Cal, mostly because he volunteered. He had Ares blood in him, but he was sweeter than a panda—which made no sense, considering his parentage. He promised to go a little easy on her, since she was smaller and less experienced, not because she was a girl.<p>

"Why defend yourself on that point?" she had asked.

"My mom was the toughest kid in camp in her time," he'd answered. "If I went easy on you because you were a girl, my mom would skin me alive."

She'd snickered. She lost against him, but he gave her defensive pointers and helped her seek out some ways to find opponent weak spots. When they tried again, she almost won, but got ahead of herself.

"Don't beat yourself up," Cal said. "I'm older and way bigger. And I've got way more experience in this sort of thing. You're doing great for a girl your age—especially a mortal. I'm scared of how dangerous you'll be when you're Espie's age!"

Zac had returned from setting the traps relatively unharmed. He'd gotten a splinter, but he'd toughed it out like a big boy and soldiered through. He was also now covered in grime and dirt, grinning like a madman.

Aria ruffled his dirty curls. "_Papi_ is gonna be super happy for you," she said.

"I made a billion traps," he exclaimed. "The bigger kids said Blue Team won't know what hit them!"

Wallace came up and grinned. "Zac set them up, and we had Arey and the Hermes campers expertly hide them. We'll set up the flag traps last, since we need to establish guards and such."

"So, who will be guarding?" Aria asked.

Vance walked up. "You and Cal will," he said. "I'm making the Hephaestus and Ares the main attackers, and having Aphrodite, Hypnos and the others defend. Hermes will be going after the Blue Flag. You're the last line of defense around our flag, and that's after they try and get past the traps."

Aria listened as he told them that she and Cal would be stationed within two feet of the Red Flag, and the traps around the flag—mines, a couple Hephaestus nets, and some arrow traps—would be within a three foot radius of them. They were advised not to engage until the traps had been set off."

"What about the sky?" Cal asked.

Vance waved it off. "No one can fly on the opposite team. There will be tree traps, but other than that, the ground is our main concern."

Aria nodded. "So, me and Cal sit and wait for fireworks?"

"Exactly." Vance grinned.

* * *

><p>Gus felt nauseous. Ever since Aria had beaten him, he'd been feeling strange. His skin felt tight, his back and arms hurt, and his head was pounding.<p>

He told Jonah, who, in turn, got an Apollo camper. She looked the legacy of Mars over and said he might be getting a growth spurt, which would explain the pained back and arms. She gave him a supply of ambrosia to take in case it got too unbearable.

"You sure you want to participate?" Jonah asked. "I can tell Bradley to count you out."

"No," Gus insisted. "Bradley will just badger me about not wanting to face Aria after she slammed me in the arena. I need to prove myself."

"You think you can beat Aria in Round Two?"

"I never said I was going after her." He scratched the back of his neck. "I just meant I would be proving I can be good in a battle against others in the game."

Jonah smirked. "You're totally gonna try and get her back."

"Maybe."

"You do realize she'll kick your butt again, right?"

"Maybe I want to snipe her with a paint arrow."

Jonah laughed. "That would start a prank war on you two and gods know how a _Valdez_ gets when pranks are involved."

"She's not like that. She's like Calypso."

"And since when has Calypso passed up a good opportunity for revenge?"

_Good point_. Gus gulped. Calypso could get pretty mean when it came to revenge pranks. Leo and Tulio got creative. Espie got violent. There was no telling what Aria would do.

_She'd probably get Zac to build her something_, he thought. _Something that will make me really embarrassed._

Gus's stomach lurched, but he kept a straight face. The pain was getting unbearable. For one strange moment, he felt his spine freeze up, making him hunch over slightly. Luckily, Jonah didn't notice it.

Gus and Jonah walked over to the area where their team was meeting up. Bradley O'Conner, the leader of the Nike Cabin, nodded in their direction.

"Glad you could finally join us," he noted harshly. Gus tried not to shrink under the older boy's gaze. "You ready to win?"

Everyone on the Blue Team cheered. Bradley gave everyone their orders, telling Gus and Jonah to stay near the rear of the attack group. Jonah would be on the left flank, Gus on the right.

Soon after they got situated, Gus felt the need to throw up. He informed someone that he felt sick and ran behind a couple bushes. He dry-heaved a few times, ending up on his hands and knees. He felt woozy, hoping the world would stop spinning.

His back reached a new level of pain, his spine cracking. His insides were now on fire. He tried to scream, but his voice was suddenly gone. His jaw unhinged and something grew out of his lower back.

"Hey, Gus! You feeling okay over there?"

Gus felt like everything was on fire. His whole body trembled and stretched. His vision turned red and his head hurt like crazy. He howled in agony and stumbled out of the bushes, hoping he could get someone to call for an Apollo camper.

* * *

><p>Zachariah Valdez sat on Chiron, who was in centaur form. Since Zac was small and needed constant supervision with his sister gone, he had allowed it. Zac blew a stray curl out of his face and waved a tiny red flag in the air.<p>

"Go Sissie!" he called, even though his sister was nowhere near them. "Red Team is the coolest!"

Chiron rolled his eyes and held the starting horn to his lips.

Screams split the air. Chiron furrowed his brow. "Strange," he noted. "I haven't sounded the horn yet."

Blue Team members raced through the trees, yelling for support. Chiron told Zac to hold on as he galloped to the Blue Team's starting point. Zac pointed to a spot on the ground every few moments to warn Chiron on Red Team offensive traps. The centaur skidded to a halt when he arrived at the Blue Team home base.

A large, grey drakon squirmed through the trees, roaring. Campers ran around, trying to stab at the beast. It kept howling and approaching campers, but it didn't seem like it was truly attacking anyone.

Zac gaped at the creature with awe. It was shaped like Festus and Icarus, and Zac really wanted to get closer to it. The drakon froze and locked its gaze onto Chiron and Zac.

Chrion notched an arrow to his bow and told Zac, "Get off of my back, Zac, and run. Go into the trees and hide."

Zac slid off of the horse-man and started running away. He originally was going to obey Chiron's orders, but he then thought of something better. The four-year-old whirled around and spat a raspberry at the drakon.

"Hey," he called. "Meanie head dragon! Come get me!"

The drakon looked at the child with intense brown eyes. The campers all tried to run to Zac to defend him, but the drakon jumped over them and sprinted towards the kid. Zac bolted off into the trees, and stopped a few meters away from an older looking oak. He turned to face the monster and smiled.

The drakon began to skid, trying to avoid crashing into the tree and child. About five feet away from the tree and huge golden net shot up from the ground and tangled up the drakon. A large dose of electricity shot through the net and the drakon fell to the ground, stunned.

Campers cheered and Chiron trotted up to smiled at Zac. "Well, done, Zachariah. Though, I'm sure the Red Team is not going to be thrilled at you revealing one of their traps…"

The drakon shuddered once and began to shrink. Its tail and scales disappeared, revealing camp clothes over dark skin. The horns shrank and receded into a sudden wave of smooth black hair.

Augustus Zhang moaned inside the golden net. He opened his eyes once, but immediately shut them again, passing out.

Zac looked worriedly at Chiron. "Uh-oh," he said. "I think I did bad."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Chiron informed him. "Release Augustus, if you please. Bradley, go fetch an Apollo camper right now." He looked down sadly upon the legacy of Pluto entrapped in the net.

"Oh dear," he muttered to himself. "_Of course_ Augustus would be having difficulty controlling this new ability _right when _ his father goes missing…"

He stared at Zac as the legacy untangled the net expertly, almost half-expecting the four-year-old to suddenly burst into flame.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Sorry there wasn't much of Jonah. There wasn't much to do with him atm. But at least I got Zac in here a little more :)_**

**_And look! Gus got Frank's powers. I know it didn't really hurt Frank the first time it happened to him, but Gus _is_ half Frank's age (Frank was 16 when it first happened, Gus is 8)._** **_I'll try to put in a good explanation in the next chapter (hopefully)._**

**_I believe that that power goes to one in a generation. There's really no way to tell, since every canon generation for the Zhangs has been one child. I'm not counting the family in Greece. So, while Sammy Leo gets the Mars blessing, Gus gets the Poseidon-passed-down powers._**

**_And no, Zac is not going to burst into flame. The twins will be the only children of Leo Valdez to have that power._**


End file.
